The Comic Artist

There are only a few amateur or "underground" comic artist in the Philippines. Manix Abrera is one of those. Being a comic artist means having to think about stories that people would like to read about and also illustrate the characters and the setting to be further enjoyed by the reader. Which means a good comic artist should be good in writing and illustrations.

One of Manix's work is entitled 'KIKOMACHINE' which are single strip comics (If I'm not mistaken). They're short and fun to read. He writes mostly about everyday scenarios that most people could relate to. Like trying to change test scores, being mature and acting your according to your age, having only words to take a heart away, and seeing a professor enter a wrong classroom. His works are funny but also true, easy to relate to as mentioned before. He also uses simple language so readers could be interested more than reading complicated and deep English. Although it's fancy and it sounds smart, it wouldn't have the same feel to it. It wouldn't feel real. using simple languages will result in to an effective work, especially in literature and art.

Being an artist means to communicate social issues or whatever to a certain target audience. A good artist delivers these messages effectively; However, people today recognizes artists as people who could create 'beautiful' works even without any meaning to it. Only a few could execute such things, creating art not just for respect but for the intention to suggest a thought.

The Rise of Technological Dependencies

Technology has been expanding and developing exponentially since the day of it's birth. Back then, you have to carry kilograms of weight just to have 120mb of disk space. And in the early 2000's, The largest memory a laptop could have is around 280Gb. Nowadays, since technology has evolved, 1 Terabyte of space (1,000 gigabytes) could fit in a 1 inch by 60mm casing. With that kind of memory storage, a lot of small devices could fit tons of applications and programs that simple people may use to help them with everyday tasks. But every good has it's bad.

It's agreeable that science makes our work easier and faster, but that does not always mean for the better of our selves and social environment. The social networking websites are for people who wants to be MORE social or for those who ARE NOT very social and wants to be. Sadly, these social networking sites and applications just pulls people away from their peers and more into the application. Everybody would know how it feels to be fully ignored by their tech-consumed friends in the middle of a group work.

People needs the satisfaction of other people giving likes. Some people would rather see how many likes they got and compare to other people, and they use this type of approval from others to establish a higher social status. On another note, people nowadays depend on apps to do everything. Sometimes it's helpful, but after a few weeks, it just gets annoying. Who uses waze for 2 weeks for the same route and destination ?! Also, it is much better to taste the food yourself rather than reading reviews. Reviews help, by the way, but not dependable .

Technology will soon consume us until it makes us create its own body. It is slowly killing us as well as we kill the environment. Mobile devices are useful, yes, but not to the point that these devices should do all the work, to the point that we forget about out health.Technology, especially in small devices are excellent, but never should be dependable.

Ang Di Magbago Tayo (Mulitmedia Art Exhibit - Sept 6 - 9, 2016)

The BIBO team was given a project that requires an exhibition about whatever topic they may choose among themselves. In this case, to eliminate or "kill" a negative trait about an individual. The peg is to simulate a crime scene; the victim being the negative characteristic, and the criminal, who is the artist that has to kill the victim. To further clarify, the "taya" is the person who did not change or eliminate the characteristic, and the victim is the embodiment of a particular negative characteristic.

The exhibition shall explore the   polarities of the human psyche -  concept of good and evil. The exhibition aims to visually articulate   that everybody has a negative characteristic in themselves and each individual has the choice to eliminate these unwanted traits through their own initiative.

The concept of the exhibit is to mimic the idea of a crime scene where each artist shall be both protagonist and antagonist. The participating artists shall illustrate personal negative traits through their selected mediums.  The art works are intended to confront the viewers and the artists alike on how to deal with their negative characteristics.

As an interactive element, the exhibit will feature a crime scene look and feel and the group’s individual art work is their crime showcased in their specialization. The concept is that each member is a suspect in a crime of murder and the audience or visitors are the ones who will decide who the killer is.  But they don’t know that each member killed a characteristic about themselves that is unpleasant, negative, or somewhere along those lines. The audience role is to find out or investigate who likely killed the victim by analyzing each artwork as clues and evidences.

The location for the exhibit will be preferably held inside a house (or a well divided space) because it is where a person contemplates about himself and sees negative things. And also, if the crime is about oneself, it is more likely to happen inside a home.

In the end of the exhibit, there shall be a "Taya", a person that failed to change. The point of the exhibit is to show people that there will be something one will not tolerate about themselves and will have the desire to change but could not. Hopefully this encourages people that there will always be  a way, there is still a chance for self betterment, and there will always be a better choice.

Veggies or Meat ?

According to Vegetarian Society, they define a vegetarian as: "Someone who lives on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish* or by-products of slaughter.". Then again, do they get the sufficient nutrients they need ? Or its main purpose is it also a way to cut down on calories and fat? Is it just about the diet or a lifestyle ?

The good side to being a vegetarian is that there are more health benefits. A lot of health problems could be prevented like the development of kidney stones and gallstones , a lower risk in heart disease,  obesity, high blood pressure, and more. but of course, That doesn't mean that eating meat does not have benefits. Meat could offer high amount of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy saturated fats. There are also a lot more Iron in meat than in vegetables.

Now the bad side of being a vegetarian. There may be nutrient deficiency in doing a vegetarian diet. There are vitamins that could be found in meat that are rare in a vegetarian diet, these vitamins help the nervous system, digestive system, and even improve eye sight and skin.

In conclusion, we need to depend on all fruits, vegetables, and meat to have consume all necessary vitamins and minerals in order to survive. Going vegetarian doesn't ensure good health; however, having a balanced diet will. That means eating all sorts of food. Yes, there are benefits from being a vegetarian, and there are also benefits from being a meat eater, so why not eat meat at veggies to get both their benefits? If going vegetarian is just about the taste of meat, then that is a whole different story.

I could listen to him all day

A good teacher is knowledgable , wise, able to explain ideas clearly and effective. But a teacher who can be included in the 'favorite list' is fun to be with, approachable , and could present thoughts that are entertaining. In APC, there are only a few professors that could be one of the 'favorites' since the population of APC faculty and students is fairly small compared to the majority of universities and colleges.

Mr. Dustin Celestino is one of the best professors in APC. He's an english teacher who has a degree in philosophy and is part of the filipino free thinkers, which makes his lessons quite fun and satisfying to listen to. Outside the classroom, Sir Dustin talks to us students like he is not even our professor. He jokes around, talks about beers, and more. There are not that many professors who one could hang out with. It's very sad to know that Sir Dustin is not teaching in APC anymore. He is a great help to digimed students, research writing students, and any other paper work because of his knowledge. With all the good things said about Sir Dustin, there shouldn't be any question why he shouldn't be one of the best professors, even if his classes are often hard to cope with.

Sir Dustin will be missed in APC, because of how we enjoy spending time with him. A good professor is hard to come by, but a professor one could bond with is even more difficult to find. Hopefully someday, after all the hard work in school, we all get to meet our favorite professors somewhere and have a good time . Because this particular professor has been a great help in finishing college.

From Skinny To Fat

Before one could reinvent their selves, one must first recognize that there is a need to change. Reinventing oneself is a huge challenge in life but offers a great reward in the end. It is often seen as a betterment or an improvement of a person. Hard work and dedication is needed in order to successfully reinvent oneself.

Growing up as an underweight boy who was always told funny jokes about being too skinny at almost every situation, it has become a reminder that someday, something has to change. From recent discoveries, working out was the answer to gaining weight, despite people's popular opinion that working out is for losing weight. The body needs to notice that more muscles mass is needed to move; thus stimulates muscle growth. Discipline, on the other hand, is tough to come by. Proper diet is also required to be able to gain weight, not just by exercising alone. Because the body needs to grow, there must be nutrients used to build muscle.

When people hear the word 'diet' , they often think that it is to reduce the amount they consume . But it really means eating the right food for the intended purpose. Eating junk food is fattening, but it does
not necessarily carry all the nutrients and vitamins needed to grow healthy and well developed muscles. Although it works, it is never really an option because of the poor results it may deliver.

At the end of the day, it all starts with the intention to change. The realization to reinvent oneself is the first step, the second is planning, the third will be the execution. Hopefully, everybody would have the will to follow through  with their plans. As mentioned before, reinventing oneself is one of the hardest challenges a person will do in their life.

Bayani ?

Learning about what it takes to be a 'Bayani' baked a few questions in mind. How ? What could a student realistically do ? It is difficult to gain respect and be an influential person because of all the judgement on social media. One act of bravery could turn into an act of fame whoring; "pabida" or "pasikat" as they say.

The Dakila event held in Asia Pacific College made a lot of sense and opened a lot of eyes. There were interesting topics that were tackled about the kastila era . It was shocking to know that when Christianity was introduced, it was their weapon against all threats. The one thing that stood out the most was the 'bulletproof' vest that was only made with a thin cloth but printed with the marks of God. It was told that because it was blessed, it will repel all bullets; it was never tested since the holder died by hanging. Aside from that, they talked about how a bayani becomes a bayani. They've also differentiated Bayani from Hero, and the big point is as time goes on, the meaning of the words will evolve. And soon after, Hermano Puli was introduced, a forgotten hero . They have also introduced another film, after the Heneral Luna, is Hermano Puli. The speakers wanted us to know about Hermano Puli because of his love for the country, how he inspired people to stand up and fight for the country they love. Now they talk about how a Bayani loves a country; Love for God, for the people, and for the country. Basically at the end of the talk, it revolved around those words.

Today, it's tough to inspire some people. They look up only to a few who aren't even local citizens. Who doesn't want to inspire and pass on vital knowledge about the country they love. But that does not mean it should stop there. Just because it is difficult to be a bayani, does not mean one shouldn't try. Like what the speakers have shared, "Love for God, Love for the people, Love for the country". Those things would be sufficient to become a better person for the country.

GAGAMBOY (The Significance of a Filipino Superhero)

Gagamboy is a 2004 filipino film directed by the well known Erik Matti. The film is a superhero science fiction action comedy, that is not something most Filipino films have. Gagamboy is often compared to the Spider-Man because it is a direct translation of  'Spider-Man'. But it doesn't mean that it is the same movie, Oh no.

It is said  that the film is underappreciated. Yes, it does not contain cheezy romantic one-liner super gwapo as the lead actor with the usual romantic Filipino film plot. Gagamboy is different in a lot of ways. It has been brought up some time ago that the whole movie was filmed in a set. The houses and the streets including the lights are made inside a warehouse set studio to portray a poor city. Production is off the charts!

Now about the film. At first, the protagonist had a romantic rival with the 'cool macho' guy. Later on the typical 'radio active' barrel gets trashed around into 2 insects, A spider and a Cockroach, which soon gets in the way of the protagonist and the antagonist. Now we all know how everything plays out. The writers of the story just introduced 2 new super powered individuals, they are original creations with origin stories. They are now a part of the Filipino Superheroes who nobody gives attention to.

Watching 'Gagamboy' is not just about what the story tells , but what the Filipino viewers missed to appreciate. Mars Ravelo's stories are well known because of how superpowers in the Philippines would work around normal Filipino lives. Not every body could relate to Captain America, but a lot of people could empathize on Darna, Captain Barbell, Rubber Boy, Lastikman and so on. These kinds of Filipino films (not series nor telenovelas) should be appreciated and given the support it deserves. They might be the childhood that the future generation might live with.

Leni For The Win

Leni Robredo is the Philippines new Vice President; but why is she the best person for the job ? Of course, the majority of the people saw Leni was fit for being the Vice President of the Philippines because if her political history. As a person who is not politically updated from time to time, Leni was the only realistic candidate who has somewhat realistic plans for the future of the country.


"Leni Robredo became the representative of the Third District of Camarines Sur in 2013 after she was persuaded to consider the political life, with a continuing commitment to her three daughters to remain the caring mother she set out to be at the start of her married life." - lenirobredo.com

Leni has the heart of a mother and the strength of a knowledgeable, honest politician. She would know how hard parents have to work for them to be able to feed their children, she would know how a family is reliant on government support. And so Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo focused on one idea, the Filipino Family. Of course their plans would have to break down and target smaller problems first to accomplish the tougher and larger ones. Even before the Roxas-Robredo team up, Leni has been on a mission to help those who are in need. She has been also pushing bills that would benefit most of the country. Leni's plans is pretty straight forward, which makes her ideas as well as herself to be the best person for the 2nd most important role in the government.

There are politicians who are selfish, demands power and abuses it 'under the table'. Like my mother said, most politicians just became politicians because of the immunity from imprisonment which is why as soon as a president has ended his/her terms, they are immediately imprisoned or trialed. There are only a few who we can sympathize on, where we can already tell that this person may have experienced the same things one has experienced. And by that note, one can trust someone to help.

The Day We Won

The Philippine Independence Day is celebrated on the 12th of June. The Philippines has celebrated it's 118th Independence Day last June 12th, 2016 commemorating the day The Philippines is free from the Spaniard colonists. But the Americans came and left years after the Republic of the Philippines has been declared independent from colonists. Manuel Roxas was the first president of the new republic after the Americans left the Philippines

In today's times, Only a few knew how it was like to achieve independence from colonists, how it feels to have the country back to it's natives. Movies, music, propaganda art, and all sorts of literature are being made to fully show people how it as back in the day. People are starting to understand but many still overlooks the film's main objective which is to show people how The Philippines has gained it's independence. Because of the influence of the Americans and other cultures around the world, some Filipinos are not as patriotic as they hope to be. And so, Professors, Literary Writers, Film makers, all hope to educate these people that the soil they live in has been fought for many years, thousands maybe millions have died trying to take the Philippines back.

The 21st century may be the time where most of the Philippine citizens would not know the correct history of the Philippines. Personally, it's quite okay; as a person who lives in the moment and only cares about the future. But then again, how could one be successful in the future if he does not know his own past.  Learning about the past is only as great as preparing for the future. There are a lot of sayings that invites people to look into the past so they could learn about what to expect in the future. A professor in history once told the class that history simply repeats itself so we have to learn about the mistakes of the past and make correct decisions for the future.

Ride a Bike. Save a Life, Save the World

Man has discovered a way to travel large distances in a very short period of time. Man has also found a way to travel in large numbers and still go the same distance at the same time. But Man did not think about how many would do the same, and how many more would want the benefits of commuting. And today, public transportation is the best way to get from point A to point B. Statistically, Yes, It is true because of the carbon emissions and by the amount of kilometers traveled by a single vehicle full of people vs 1 car and a driver.

Heavy traffic has been the number one problem in commuting. It has gotten people late for work and hateful of their co-commuters. The source of the problem is debatable; whether it would be the amount of cars, the small roads and highways, or the irresponsible drivers. Realistically speaking, it's all three; Because if the number of cars in the road is increased, so  will the number of irresponsible drivers will, and All of those cars wouldn't fit in a 5-lane highway that sometimes turn into a 2-lane highway because of  bad road planning.

Cyclists are the wind of the road, no matter how tight spaces can be, there is a much wider path. Because of the traffic, it's much faster to run to work than to sit in a vehicle. But nobody likes running , Cycling is much easier and more efficient. In metro-manila , there are what people call 'Rush hours' and at this time, the heavy, extremely slow paced traffic could last for hours. But bicycles could maneuver into the traffic since it's a compact mode of transportation, it doesn't need a lot of space. There is no such thing as heavy traffic for cyclists

The solution to avoid bad traffic is to prevent it. Road widening is almost impossible, that's why skyways are being made to compensate. Nobody would sell their cars to ride public transportation, comfort and privacy is one of the reasons why one should buy a car. If work is more important than comfort, get a bike. The solution to avoid traffic is to flow through the mess . It doesn't produce carbon emissions and it will be the biggest investment of anyone's life. Kill traffic, Ride a bike.

Finally, Dick is In (Richard Gordon)

As a person who isn't really politically updated, some campaigns are effective through people who are not politically updated as well. A few candidates try to slip in some jokes to further cater to those who are not as serious. To be honest, it is quite difficult to memorize each name , learn about them, and on top of that, know how each part of the government works. What does the senate do ? Who should be in the senate? Who is that ?

Richard Gordon went viral after his "Ipasok si Dick" move. The joke was perfect, people started to know him and everybody was saying "IPASOK SI DICK! IPASOK SI DICK".  This was years before he got in the senate; And as a newly registered voter, this is what made me remember his name. Quite frankly, after all of those "Ipasok si Dick" years, He deserved to win . And now that he won, the joke started to evolve once again and grew even funnier when people started merging other names with "Ipasok si Dick". It seems like a lot of people wanted see Dick in the senate.

Sometimes the senate isn't given much seriousness as it should be. Celebrities are there, athletes, maybe in the near future, YouTubers are running for senate. But maybe that's just how it is in politics. Having a lot of fans, making people laugh, being one of the best performers in sports, It's all there. That is the same principle, or a short cut to life as some people would say, is making people like you so one could get a promotion even though there is no skill and knowledge that is relevant to the position offered. But nonetheless, they have a responsibility and a reputation to hold. They wouldn't be able to mess this one up.

Do You Even Read, Bro ?

Books are timeless; Many of them contains information from the early years mankind started writing things down. Authors are the time travelers of written literature because their words can be read decades after they are written. With that realization, it is fascinating to read from people who were in the renaissance , or in WWII . From this very blog post, this can be read after a million years and may be used as reference from a research. Think about that!

As a reader who lost time to purchase books, it is hard to find people with the same interests. Only a few people were interested in Filipino Fiction, particularly "Trese". Reading about the adventures of people who doesn't exist seems to be more exciting than hearing about someone Else's adventures. Writers are able to fondle with the human mind, create emotion, fear, anticipation, and all of those makes a book so lovable. In highschool, it was just the basic set; Bob Ong, and a few self empowerment books. But as time goes on and new influences are met, it looks like there are more wonderful books to read and be addicted to. Waiting for the next issue, wishing something would have happened differently in the story. On the other hand, there are some books that makes some people go "What is this?! No!". A book that has tons of cliches is a predictable story line, and that is not good. And oh, They exist. Luckily, most of those books are not printed, they're only available online. Buying a book supports it's writer, and if the writer can fund his work, more books are written.

Reading is important; it can't be explained that simple but it is a skill one has to practice. A person who doesn't read as much will slowly have trouble writing or speaking. One doesn't have to be a bookaholic, one simply has to read sometimes. Yes it is hard to find good material but there is always for somebody. Try looking for a good book and it is impossible to say that it doesn't tickle the brain.

Father's Day

In the early 1900s, Father's day was not celebrated as much as today. In fact, The (not yet a) holiday started when a church held an event in memory of those who died in war. People never really saw the same values a father has compared to a mother because unlike mothers, Fathers does not have the same sentimental appeal that mothers have. As years pass, many people started to honor their fathers because of their bravery in war or in their family, a little give back for all the hard work. In 1910, the holiday became statewide in Washington; In 1924, father's day is starting to be rcognized as a holiday. During those time, people wanted to merge father's day and mother's day instead, but the government did not approve.


Nowadays, one's father does not have to be deceased to be able to celebrate Father's day. Since the holiday is now commercialized; people wanted to honor, give thanks, offer a relaxing vacation, and etcetera to their fathers. Because we now live in the modern times where everybody wants to join in celebrating a holiday, it is fairly easy to find something for one's father. Restaurants offer discounts to those who are fathers, or even free meals or drinks. Back then, the upbringin of Father's Day was simple going to church and saying a few words. But now, it is capitalized. The value of the holiday doesn't change, No, It is important to know where things came from and how it evolved so that one can see things differently from others.

Fathers are hardworkers, Laborers, and there is also a hint of a mother in them. Mothers do have a stronger love for their child, but fathers have a different story. It is always important to remember that a father is the person who will fight battles with their child, a person who does the dirty work so the mother would not have to. A Father plays a lot of different roles, sometimes an astronaut, a spy, a superhero. So remember, to who ever is holding the father figure in the house, greet them a Happy Father's Day. Even if that person is also the mother of the house.

Turn Left, Turn Right

"This is a movie about two people (Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro), who are destined to be together but by some twist of circumstances they never find each other. "

Turn Left, Turn Right is a 2003 joint Hong Kong-Singaporean sentiment film, recorded in Taipei, Taiwan. Created and coordinated by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, the film stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung. The story depends on the delineated book A Chance of Sunshine by Taiwanese writer Jimmy Liao, who shows up with his wife and girl in the film. It is additionally the principal Chinese-dialect Asian film ever from created and disseminated by Warner Bros.

The first realistic novel was initially distributed in 1999. The characters in the novel were not given names, both characters were just alluded to as "him" and "her". Chinese title of the book means "Turn Left, Turn Right", A Chance of Sunshine is the first English title of the book, on the more current distributed releases the English title is appeared as "Turn Left, Turn Right". The book comprises of a progression of nitty gritty showed pictures, with a little measure of content in verse style. The film has figured out how to incorporate each and every picture in the book with an abnormal state of exactness, albeit some are short lived.

The two characters never really met, it is fairly sad to listen to because of how fate does not want them to be with each other. They do almost the same routine everyday but does not cross paths. The movie shows that they are for one another, they are right for each other but they never meet. And when they do meet and try to exchange informations, They forget their bag which contains the phone number, smudged the ink on paper, and a lot more. But of course, the film gave us the satisfaction of them finally meeting at the end of the movie.

That goes to show that sometimes destiny plays with us. If one has lost someone in the past, who is to say that they would never get back together in the future? Nobody could predict the future, nor write their own fate. One could only hope that things would be better. Heck, no one could even know if they have met the love of their life yet. Let fate take us on a ride.

Public Speaking Competition

Public speaking is considered a skill nowadays, because of the fear of judgement and errors in front of an audience. This 'skill' is basically speaking clearly, loudly, and confidently without any utters, fill words, and dead silence. There are people who has a lot to say but they say it through texts, unable to voice it out because of the lack of skill in public speaking. Weirdly, that is a part of public speaking. People with great public speaking skills are looked upon because it shows they are confident and can voice out their ideas better than most people. Having this skill is important especially when having a presentation.

In school, this has now been made into a competition to see those who excel in public speaking. Filipinos generally speak 2 languages, English and Filipino, and some people are not confident about their english speaking skills especially verbally and in front of many people. If it is not clear yet, the competition is in english, which makes it harder to do, to be honest. A few of my classmates in ECE151 has been chosen to compete. They wrote their speeches, gave their best, and surely shaken by the nerve wrecking anticipation of the reuslts. Napoleon Labuson is called as one of the 8 public speaking finalists.

Public speaking should be practiced everyday because it helps us communicate better with our friends and future co-workers. It should not be called a skill, someday it will be called normal human behavior. Yes, it is difficult sometimes but the pay off is undoubtedly comforting. Knowing one could speak his mind and solve problems in a matter of minutes instead of being passive aggressive is a person who can be trusted and befriended. 

Speech Choir and Ignite Competition

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The Speech choir is similar to the Chant and cheers competition, but this time it's longer and a lot more effort is put into the presentation. If the chant and cheers competition is about telling the audience who you are, the speech choir is suppose to deliver something else. In some cases, a class is given a piece to be presented so the speech is uniform and it will only vary with the performances and how well the piece is delivered. The Ignite speech is a little bit more challenging, but of the presenter knows his/her topic very well, then it would not be as difficult. The Ignite requires a Power Point Presentation with a 15 second timer for each slide and the slides must be synchronized with the speech, otherwise the presentation might lose it's consistency and strength. Of course each slide must be related to the topic and the current sentences or paragraph spoken by the presenter.

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The trouble with performing a speech choir is getting everybody into it, since not all of the students are into speeches and performing, it's hard to inspire everybody to unite. The technique sometimes is finding the perfect role for those who does not want to expose themselves on stage; for example, there may be a percussionist on stage, or the interactive prop guy who places and moves the props around the stage as part of the performance. It is because the speech choir demands the cooperation of the class that makes it difficult, and it is known that not everybody in the class are the same in terms of interests and enthusiasm.

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With the Ignite speech, sometimes it pays to be creative, thinking outside the box like this one presenter whose topic is about nothing, and there wasn't any photos or texts involved in the power point presentation, there was no speech (but it was prepared for). It was outstanding , everything connected. That is also the hard part, the risk of choosing topic. One may like the topic chosen, the speech prepared may be the best one yet, but it all depends on how it is delivered and timed. That is also one of the key factors in an Ignite competition, the timing. as it troubles a lot of the presenters.

Like in the previous blogs, these competitions and challenges are what molds out abilities to be creative and to conquer our fears in speaking publicly. These may also help in an interview, our confidence in front of people unknown to our peers. Every challenge is partnered with a lesson, gamers would call this "Experience", and with enough experience, we could step up into a higher form of presentation. We should not excuse ourselves away from these kinds of activities, we should all learn from them

SoMA Week: Creative Storytelling and Confessions of a Bookaholic

The Creative Storytelling and Confessions of a Bookaholic competition pushes the contestants to be creative and to show how imaginative they can be. As a spectator, observing each presentations may tell how one's creative mind works. The speeches they have prepared may be stressful to write, but again, it challenges one's mind to be creative.

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Personally, as a multimedia student who has developed a different taste and opinions on art, these competitions should approached uniquely especially it is involved in the SoMa Week. Most art is basically a form of Creative Storytelling like Films, Photography, Paintings, and many more. But if it ias only about speaking in front of people, telling a story, having fun with imagination is what will make a great presentation. Nonetheless, all the contestants or presentations were outstanding and impressive. The courage alone to take the stage and present one's creativity is amazing.

And since this is a competition, there are winners of course. and the following are the results:

Confessions of a Bookaholic

 

Champion:

ABMA 134

Justine Pallado

1st Runner up:

AC 132

Emman Apolinario

2nd Runnerup:
ABMA 133

Leo Guinid

Creative Storytelling

 

Champion:

ECE 151

Jemima Yucoco

John Martin Yokol

1st Runner up:

CPE151

Antonio De La Cruz

Sheila Mae Manongsong

2nd Runner up:

ABMA134

Gertrude Parado

Ara Conza

 

Being creative and having a good presentation about whatever the topic is about will hold the key into winning these types of competition. Sometimes one does not need to have good looks or a good voice, because art is art. Like a  lot of professors say, "You can get away with art", Meaning, As long as it is for art and it is also justifiable, it will be seen and called art. Even if there are grammatical errors or mispronounced words, if that is the point, then it is art . The winners should be proud of themselves.

Sana Dati

Sana Dati (If Only) is a Filipino Romantic Drama written and directed by Jerrold Tarog. The movie is part of a trilogy which consists of "Confessional" (2007), and "The Blood Trail" (2009). The film is about how the woman remembers the love she once had when he saw this other guy, thus wanting to delay her own wedding.

Typical romantic films tells us that with enough sacrifice and dedication, we can get the person we want, Even though they are worlds apart and purposely separated by the writers to exaggerate how impossible it would be to see each other. The typical films wants you to believe that destiny is your ally, if one can find a way to be with someone, it is possible. Boy meets girl, girl gets separated to the boy, a few years later, the boy travels around the world and sees the girl again, Miraculously. Then they end up happily ever after. That is usually the route in most romantic film.

The Film "Sana Dati" took a different approach, you can feel that it's a romantic film but it has a rather unfortunate turn of events. Andrea fell in love with Andrew, but they were separated in the future. One may predict that one day, they would see each other and restore their love. Later in the movie, Andrea is about the be married to Robert, the other guy. In every film, there is a character that fills in the plot, which is Dennis. Dennis is the brother of Andrew, Denis's part is to fill in Andrea and the audience what happened to Andrew. Andrea knows to her self that she loves Andrew and Dennis might provide vital information to help her find Andrew. But this is where the plot twist came in, Dennis informed Andrea (and the audience) that Andrew died. Therefore leaving Andrea no other choice but to continue with the wedding.

Every film wants to deliver a different message every time, every person also has a different interpretation of the movie. This interpretation includes how sometimes one cannot be with the person they truly love. If one desires to be with their one true love, it requires a lot of sacrifice and dedication to prevent unwanted actions by other parties like family members or another guy/girl. Sometimes it is not miracles that keeps the love strong, sometimes it is simply effort. What if Andrea and Andrew could have prevented their separation? Never let the person you want slowly drift away, if one does not need regrets.

Benjamin Alves Birthday Celebration

Benjamin Alves is a Filipino actor and model from the GMA Network. He was born on March 31st, 1989; and at his age, He was in a lot of both big and small movies like "Ang Cute ng Ina Mo", "The Trial", "If Only", "Guni Guni", and even voiced over Dave Seville in "Alvin and the Chipmunks". As Filipinos who watches a lot of Pinoy Films, one would recognize who Benjamin Alves is.

Photo From: RAMpage

Photo from: RAMpage

On the 18th of March, there was a commotion at the MPH1. A lot of students and professors were going in and out, it seemed like there was an event which was unusual because it was after College Week and befor SoMA Week. A few people were talking about what was happening inside the MPH1 and they mentioned that Benjamin Alves is having a birthday bash. It got a lot of students excited because of the type of activity they were presented. Birthdays are fun, mix that with a celebrity plus APC and the students of APC, you get a different vibe of how a birthday feels like.

The students and professors gave Benjamin a warm welcome in the school and an even warmer birthday candle for his cake. Everybody had fun, got a lot of photos with Benjamin, and probably ate a lot of food. Birthdays are important, especially when celebrated with people who cares about you the most. Although Benjamin does not personally know most of the people in APC, it is still heart warming to know that people care about the most important day of one's life. With that said, Birthdays are not just a celebration of one getting older, it is also an indication that with all the years one has been living, it is a good time to thank and give back to the people who makes one's life worth living.

College Week: "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" English Edition

The "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" English Edition game competition is an event in Asia Pacific College's College week. The game is similar to the U.S. Version which was hosted by Rehis Philbin and it was also adapted by the Philippines hosted by Christopher De Leon and Vic Sotto. In the original version, the contestants were asked 15 questions and with every right answer, the next question has twice the amount of value than the previous question. It is a blur whether the television game show has multiple contestants or just one, but according to many articles that the game show has teams and both teams battle it out to get to the Million dollar question.

Photo from RAMpage

The APC College week version is similar to the game show rules, but of course the school would not give out 1 Million pesos in cash. The College Week's version only measure the value of a question by points or pretend cash to represent points. The same rules apply, the value of each question goes higher as the game progresses. There are multiple teams in the first few rounds, all teams collect points as the game goes on and they get eliminated if they are the least earners of the round. The last team standing is also asked more questions to see if they could beat the game and win the grand prize. The hardest part of this is discussing which is the right answer. It is fairly difficult when there are two answers proposed to the team but both sides have a good statement. Nonetheless, it is a fun experience for the contestant as a team. Being in a team means the success of one is celebrated by many, but the failure of one is felt by all.





As to the results of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? English Edition, they have played a good game, and showed outstanding knowledge.

Champion:

ABMA 134

Giselle Bandilla

Kim Edward Raymundo

Nicole santos

Runner up:

ABMA 152

Alexis Pascua

Hugh Sebastian Decara

Edgardo Siroy Jr.

Photo from RAMpage

By the end of the day, everybody may say that having even the most common knowledge about any topic is great for progress. Even as a spectator, trying to answer the questions was a challenge because it pushed one's mind to remember the discussions and lectures in class. Learning is never a bad thing, it is a gift bestowed by the those who knows well. So always thank the teachers and professors who have thought the young minds and who have molded their future into a brighter one.

Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings

Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings is an Indipendent FIlm directed by Jade Castro in 2011.The Film is classified as a Comedic Horror. "Remington is in love with Hannah but she finds him lazy and uncouth. Then he starts to change. Suddenly he is becoming neater, nicer, more sensitive. Is he doing it for her? Or is something beyond his control changing him into someone he is not? He discovers that his gradual transformation is tied to something he did long ago, to childhood transgressions and curses uttered in graveyards. Hannah falls for the new and improved Remington, but he starts falling for someone else. As the ghosts of Remington's past come to haunt him, so do the the Zombadings. Undead, fabulous, they threaten to rock this sleepy town to death."
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1810861/)

The movie seems to focus on homophobes. Meaning, people who hate on homosexual people. Since Remington likes to pick on gay people in the movie, He was given a curse that he'll grow up to be gay forever. After some time with the curse, Remington realizes that what he did was wrong. But he is stuck with the curse FOREVER. The plot seemed straight forward, easily understood , the moral of the story is clear. Although it was a typical Pinoy movie , which all Philippine movie seems to have even though it is not on purpose, The movie did well in delivering their message.

Bashing on Homosexuals are bad. They do not deserve being shamed upon just as Heterosexuals does not deserve to be told negative connotations. Respecting people's choices, beliefs, and whatever they want to do to their bodies is important. Morally, if it does not include oneself, having an irrelevant opinion is not necessary. Like a lot of elders say, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't talk at all"

Parasyte. Part 1

Parasyte (Kiseijuu) is an Japanese Action, Drama, and Horror film released in 2014 (February 2015 in the Philippines). Directed by Takashi Yamazaki and Written by Hitoshi Iwaaki, Ryôta Kosawa, and Takashi Yamazaki.
"The humanity is suffering from murders all over the globe, called "Mincemeat murders". High school student, Izumi Shinichi has a parasite living off him, having replaced his right hand, and he might be the discoverer of truth."
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3345472/)

In the first look of the movie, it is a typical story line similar with aliens trying to take over the world. In the beggining of the movie, it is issued that humanity is destroying the world and if the numbers of human beings are reduced significantlly, so will be the wastes. With that said, Marvel fans would possibly say that it is very similar to the plot of "AvengersL Age of Ultron", since Ultron, The main villain, tries to wipe out every human beings to save the earth. Incredibly, There are a lot of things that the movie tries to deliver.

The movie touched up on a lot of topics, the following is what viewers of the film may interpret the plot of the movie:

1. The movie is also about a mother's love for her child and their relationship.

2. How important human lives are to humans themselves.

3. To save the world, people must not consume the plants and animals, basically to stop destroying the ecosystem by finding a substitute source of nutrition.

To elaborate, the parasites are the way to expose these traits, they bring out the nature of people when something threatens one's realtionship or the entire world. Shinichi Izumi, the main charater, Talks to Migi the parasite he got, which is his right hand, and there is where both sides discussed about human behaviors and how people respond to threats.

Izumi's mother,Nobuko Izumi, was taken over by a parasite. This lead up to Shinichi's realization that he loves her mother so much and regrets not spending enough quality time. Another example in the movie about a mother's love is at the last scene. Yoko Tamiya is a teacher (She was successfully taken over by a parasite) in Shinichi's high school that conducts multiple experiments to understand the human behavior. She conducted an experiment trying to figure out of two parasites with human bodies had a baby, what would be the result. Tamiya is now pregnant in the movie, and at the last scene, one of their comrades decided to kill all human beings, that included Tamiya's child, and Tamiya starts to worry that he would kill her child.

It is always not the threat that the movie focused on or should only be recognized. There are other 'morals' or ideas that a film tries to deliver. Reading between the lines in movies is a great way to learn a lot of things from films. Although Parasyte is a little bit too gruesome for a kid, Parasyte is a movie worth watching.

Jon Santos

Jon Santos was bron on January 18, 1966, He is known to be a comdeian, actor, and impersonator. He is also excellent with costumes and make up. In an interview, he revealed that he was maried to an Italian-American for three years. They were married in Canada because gay marriage is legal there. Jon santos is well recognized by his impersonation of multiple public figures. His famous impersonations was, Ate Vi, Basana Roces, Armida Sigyon-Makareyna, Sherap Espada, Shawie, Bro Mike Volare, Tita Kory, Sen. Juan Flavor, Sen. Meeryam, Pres. gloring, Krissy Anino, and Okrah Weenfree.

on February 11, 2016 , Jon Santos spoke to the students of Asia Pacific College about his career and how one should continue to pursue their dreams. He is a colorful character in an asian country with asian parents, Jon santos must have had a hard time following his passion. Knowing that Jon Santos did what he wanted all his life, that is probably not his parents' first choice for him, one can learn from him and be inspired at the same time. It is no joke, surely, entering show business, comedey, especially entertainment; Jon Santos is a credible source for inspiration in doing what one loves.

It is quite easy for a person to lose hope when it comes to prusing dreams, because it is like wanting to eat all the healthy foods but there are only few choices or few places that serves those kinds of food. Jon Santos is one of those rare places where you get the healthy foods. You get encouraged once more to continure pursuing one's passion.

Yes, there is no reason not to chase after one's dream, and Jons santos gave more reasons to do so. It may seem that the path to fullfill one's passion is a straying away from the right things, but if done with the right knowledge and planning, nothing will stand in one's way in follwing one's passion.

Edith L. Tiempo

Edith L. Tiempo was known to be one of the best Filipino writers that used the English language. She was born on the 22nd of April 1919 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, which a few of her works' foundation was the era she was born in. Edith is a Poet, Fictionist, teacher, and a literary critic. She and her late husband, Edilberto K. Tiempo, founded and directed the Siliman National Writers Workshop. Edith has published multiple books and shared her knowledge with a lot of people before she died in August 21, 2011.
(reference: http://su.edu.ph/page/113-biography-of-edith-l)

One of Edith's famous work was the poem "Bonsai", which talked about love. Everyone can feel love and talk about love, but there is something about Edith Tiempo's words that makes love a little bit less harder to explain. Here is the poem:

'Bonsai'
by Edith Tiempo

All that I love
I fold over once
And once again
And keep in a box
Or a slit in a hollow post
Or in my shoe.

All that I love?
Why, yes, but for the moment-
And for all time, both.
Something that folds and keeps easy,
Son’s note or Dad’s one gaudy tie,
A roto picture of a queen,
A blue Indian shawl, even
A money bill.

It’s utter sublimation,
A feat, this heart’s control
Moment to moment
To scale all love down
To a cupped hand’s size

Till seashells are broken pieces
From God’s own bright teeth,
And life and love are real
Things you can run and
Breathless hand over
To the merest child.

---


It can turn a 'macho' man into a little boy with all the emotions it brings up on people. Also, everybody interprets someone else's art differently  and similarly at the same time. As a multimedia student that doesn't read as much, the interpretation of this may be too literall but it is still an interpretation. Love is shown through tokens, symbols, that if one recieves and loves them back, the token is kept and stored in a place; In our hearts? In our memories? Yes. If one loves a person, remember the things, keep the memories whether it is good or bad. Because in the long run, it is what you have gone through with each other that bonds the love even stronger.

As a student that loves to look at photographs and rarely reads, Edith Tiempo's work is a game changer. It gives insipiration to create, and she also said that there is this drive for creativity in everybody. Edith L. Tiempo inspires people to do a little better everytime, appreciate things more often, realize that every moment spent with friends and families cannot be replaced. And all of these emotions, feelings, came from one short poem.